Dozens of inventions showcased at 2nd Orlando Mini Maker Faire

It was a warm day outside the Orlando Science Center on Saturday, and 6-year-old Jacob Kurtz found an unusual way to make himself a snow cone.

He stepped inside a 9-foot-high wheel and started running as if he were on a giant hamster wheel. And the more he ran, the more ice the large contraption crushed and dropped into a small cup.

Jacob then furiously cranked a lever that moved the cup on a conveyor belt toward dispensers, each squirting a different flavor.

"This is great," Jacob said as he sipped his self-made sweet treat.

The large, human-powered snow-cone maker was one of dozens of inventions created and showcased by inventors, tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators and students at the second Orlando Mini Maker Faire.

Joe Donoughe created the snow-cone maker in the backyard of his Lake Mary home. He is a mechanical engineer and tinkerer, who spends most of his time — even while he's sleeping — dreaming of how to build fancy gadgets that will get kids excited about science.

"Oh, no, there were no directions on how to build this thing," Donoughe said with a laugh when asked where he got the idea. "I just built it. … There are a lot of different inventions in my head, but I just need to find the missing pieces before I can build them."

Like Donoughe, many of the gadgets and contraptions at the event were created by weekend hobbyists and amateur inventors.

"This is the stuff that they build in their garages on weekends when they're not working at their real jobs or going to school," said Ian Cole of the nonprofit FamiLab, one of the event's organizers.

The community-basedshow-and-tell festival is a smaller version of larger Maker Faires held across the country every year. The original was in San Mateo, Calif., in 2006.

Last year, more than 2,500 people attended the first Orlando event at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

Some of the more curious creations Saturday included musical robots, a 3-D printer that created a car powered by a mousetrap, and a 9-foot-high giant marionette made of recycled cardboard.

"I want people to have a playful experience when they try it," Selikoff said as he watched a father and daughter move the marionette by pulling on ropes. "I enjoy seeing adults' faces light up when they have fun and acting like children again."

Stetson University student Anja Erwin, 19, displayed her environmentally friendly battery she created by placing layers of mud, sand and water in a glass jar. It produced enough voltage to power a small light.

"On a larger scale, this could provide electricity to power, say, a water-treatment plant," Erwin said.

Jane Rollins of Oviedo brought her three children — ranging in age from 10 to 17 — to the event.

"This opens up their minds to all the different possibilities," she said. "It shows them how to be creative."